With the exception of last year, when Cedar swept both games with Norfolk Catholic, the Knights have pretty much owned the Cedar Catholic Trojans in recent years.

Despite the Knights’ 11-10 record, entering Friday’s MidStates Conference match-up here, that trend continued as the Norfolk team rolled to an 80-74 win over state-rated Cedar.

“Norfolk Catholic played very well and shot the ball extremely well,” Coach Matt Steffen said. “We are disappointed in the loss, but took some good things away from this game.”

The Knights used a deadly three-point attack to build a 42-25 first-half lead, forcing Cedar to play catch-up the rest of the game.

The Knights also worked hard to contain Cedar’s scoring leaders, James Kaiser and Grant Howell. Kaiser eventually ended the night with 20 points, but Howell was limited to just seven points on the night.

Senior Taylor Kathol stepped up and hit several big shots to aid Cedar’s offense. He ended the night with a season-best 20 points.

Jared Wiebelhaus was also left open most of the night, and he responded by turning in a career-best 16 points, including 3-5 from long distance.

Cedar ended the second frame on a high note, then came out of the locker room fired up to start the second half, out-scoring the Knights 24-13.